The Introduction
by MyCedarChest
Summary: Tony is keeping a Stark family tradition.


**Most of the characters in this story belong to Marvel Comics and whoever else has current legal ownership of Iron Man at the moment. No infringement on any corporate, business, or individual's rights is intended in any way. This story is not being written for profit, just for enjoyment.**

The Introduction

Tony Stark was waiting…. actually waiting **patiently** as the camera crew made last minute adjustments to the camera positions directly in front of the podium that he was to speak at. But being his usual fidgety self, his patience vanished after only a few seconds, and he began to look around at the auditorium stage that he was now standing on.

He smiled to himself as various memories of the structure surrounding him came back to him. His father Howard had this stage built in the LA SI headquarters building in 1968 using clear cut native Californian trees including redwood. There were many carvings within the ornamental panels on either side of the stage, but the majority of the wood surfaces were planed smooth and clear coated showcasing the natural beauty of the wood. Howard Stark had many vices in his life, but one of his secret loves had always been woodworking. But unfortunately, his lifestyle had left little time for hobbies in it. So any chance that Howard had to employ woodworkers and live vicariously through their trade he eagerly took advantage of. And the construction of this stage had been such an opportunity in Howard's life.

Tony looked up just to the right of the podium to focus on a particular ceiling panel. You had to almost squint to see it, but 14 feet above the stage floor was a long since petrified wad of pink Double-Bubble gum. This wad had survived various cleaning attempts for the past 23 years and after Tony had become CEO, he had quickly granted the wad permanent asylum in place on the ceiling. Tony smiled broadly as the memory of how the gum became a permanent fixture on the ceiling overtook him.

At the time, Tony had been a very bored four year old waiting on this very same stage to be 'officially' introduced to the SI family as the new heir to the Stark throne. He had been given not one, but two pieces of Double-Bubble by his father to chew in the hopes of keeping the hyperactive four year old distracted long enough for Howard to at least finish his speech.

Unfortunately for Howard, Maria had also given Tony a large bottle of 7-Up after Tony had complained that he was thirsty. She had made the child promise to keep the bottle out of sight behind the draped table at which Tony was made to sit behind as he waiting for his father to introduce him.

What happened next was never captured on film because of not only the unexpectedness of the event, but the speed at which it happened.

Tony clearly remembered calculating the distance to the ceiling of the stage, angle and velocity as he vigorously shook up the bottle of 7-Up after placing his gum firmly in the neck of the bottle. He made sure to keep the bottle out of sight behind the table just as his mother had asked him to do, as he took aim and struck the bottle sharply once on the edge of his chair. And as the column of sugary foam quickly rose high into the air slightly behind and to the right of Howard a loud 'splat' filled the stunned silence in the auditorium.

He remembered his mother's high pitched 'Anthony Edward!' from off stage as he sat transfixed in his chair staring up a the ceiling impressed to find a perfectly planted pink patch embedded on the ceiling. His eyes then quickly noticed the trail of foamy liquid dripping slowly from his target area onto the right shoulder pad of Howard Stark's suit. Tony remembered that his happiness with the very successful launch immediately being quashed as he watched a dark stain spread across his father's finely tailored suit. He continued to watch as the dripping slowed down and then stopped, holding his breath as he waited for his father's reaction. But surprisingly, Howard quickly continued on with his speech glancing only briefly up at the wad of Double-Bubble that had now taken up residence on the expensive redwood ceiling above and to the right of him.

Safely back in the present, Tony heaved a happy sigh as he looked down from the ceiling and out at his audience. His humorous memory had helped him relax a little, but he was surprisingly still nervous about his upcoming speech. As was tradition, the first two rows of the auditorium were filled with employees with the most tenure with Stark Industries. Howard had started this practice when he began the company. The people in those rows had known Tony his whole life and he considered them his extended family. Most of them had even been eyewitnesses to the Double-Bubble debacle. He was now able to gather some moral support from the smiles and nods he was receiving from this group of SI employees.

One of the camera operators signaled Tony that they were now ready and he nodded back in acknowledgement as he slowly hobbled up to the podium on his crutches, trying his best to project the ever cool, ever confident Tony Stark to his audience. He nonchalantly leaned his crutches against the podium smiling broadly for the cameras. His speech was being broadcast live to SI locations throughout the world.

At this exact moment in time, the enormity of what he was about to say was not lost on him. If someone were to have told him two years ago that he would be standing here on the brink of addressing SI employees with the speech he now held within his head, he would have no doubt called that person delusional at best and a liar at worst. But then again here he was.

As a hush grew amongst the assembled group, he took a deep breath tottering on the brink of words.

"I've never really been good at introductions, because, let's face it, I'm usually the one getting introduced." He began as soft laughter rippled though his audience. He smiled and held the gazes of some of his long time friends in the first two rows, as he paused for dramatic effect. "But I really felt that it was **my** responsibility to let the SI family know ahead of the press that a change in title had taken place in my life exactly two weeks ago today." The SI employees grew unusually quiet as he continued his speech and they now seemed to be hanging on his every word. He smiled again as if to reassure his audience that his words were not a precursor of any earth shattering changes unlike his speech to them immediately after he returned from Afghanistan.

"Many of you know that I ended up in Bellevue Hospital in New York recently." he continued. "And even though I wouldn't call it a swell time by any stretch of the imagination, my stay at Bellevue did have one high point to it." He said with a small smile. "Almost getting killed really isn't always the best possible way to get a good perspective on your life, but this time it did make me tighten up my bucket list just a bit. And although it had taken me an extended vacation in Afghanistan to show me that my old priorities in life were way wrong and that I was definitely in serious need of a major morals course correction, emotionally I still wasn't at that point in my life to commit my self to a single cause let alone a single person. But even in that cold cave in the mountains of Afghanistan, I had realized that my old way of life was not the way I wanted to spend the **rest** of my life. And when I was lucky enough to return home safely, I spent a lot of time re-prioritizing the future path that my life would take. And being me of course, my path to restructure my life after Afghanistan **was** a rather bumpy one." Laughter pattered through the audience as he smiled broadly for the cameras in response.

"But no matter how rough my personal waters became after my return from Afghanistan, I was always lucky enough to have my one constant in life by my side. Someone who has stood beside me for many years and had always been gently herding me to do right by myself and the world." He paused and took in a long breath before he continued, his eyes now becoming serious.

"Most of you know that this certain redhead has been a fixture in my life for over a decade. But most of you don't know just how good of a friend this incredible woman has been to me throughout the years. She is by far one of the most intelligent people that I have ever known, but her keen intellect has always been backed up by her generosity, compassion, and her wonderful sense of humor. Those of you fortunate enough to know her on a personal level can vouch for the fact that she is also one of the most honest and hardworking people on the planet. And against all odds while I was being held in that cave in Afghanistan, she single handedly held SI together for 92 days during some of the most politically and emotionally trying times in Stark Industries' long history." He paused and furrowed his brow at the cameras as he continued his voice now steady and deep. "And most important of all, she **is** the **one** person whom I had fallen in love with years ago, but only in my new sobriety and social awareness that I had finally recognized my true feelings for her." Tony smiled as he heard a few 'awws' now echo out from the audience.

"During the past year, both of us have been though a series of major changes in our lives that neither one of us had ever expected. And we were both forced to redefine once again just where we stood in each others lives. While in Bellevue Hospital, I came fairly close to buying the farm at one point and it was the realization that I may not ever get the chance again that finally gave me the courage to ask the CEO of Stark Industries to marry me. And much to my delight **and** relief, she accepted my proposal." Throughout the crowd whispering could now be heard as Tony smiled broadly at the assembled group. "We were married in the ICU at Bellevue by one of our friends in a small, private ceremony. And even though I was game for it, my **wife** had other ideas when it came to immediately running off for a honeymoon. So we opted instead for just letting me recover from my injuries." Laughter as well as scattered clapping and whistling could now be heard throughout the crowd. "But I **am** still waiting on that honeymoon."

The clapping and whistling quickly began to spread among the SI employees now. "And even though she wanted to keep her last name, I was able to finally talk her into taking mine, so that way we could leave the name on Stark Tower as is." More laughter could be heard amongst the clapping and whistling growing even louder within the audience. "So now she is not only the **best** CEO in the world, but the **luckiest** woman on earth to have **me **as her husband!" He paused and glanced quickly behind him huge smile breaking out on his face as many of the employees began to stand, clapping and cheering. Years of riding on the emotions of his audience had taught him the value of timing and he knew that his audience was now ready for him to actually make his formal introduction. "So as both her adoring husband as well as the CTO of Stark Industries, I am very proud and pleased to present to you my better half **and**, as her day gig, the CEO of Stark Industries, Mrs. Virginia Anne Stark."

He quickly turned away from the microphone and held out his right hand for Pepper who had been standing behind and to his right the whole time. She slowly stepped forward and rolled her eyes at him as he smiled brilliantly at her. He swiftly took her left hand into his and fluidly pulled her hand up to his mouth, tenderly kissing her left ring finger. He then pulled her into him, pressing a chaste kiss onto her lips. She pulled back from him slightly and then smiled broadly at him as she unconsciously reached up to wipe her lipstick from his lips. He quickly returned her smile with a brilliant one of his own.

And even though he normally wasn't content **not** being in the spot light, he found himself stepping a half step backwards in a gesture to the crowd as he symbolically indicated his official retreat from center stage. And as she took her place at the podium and began to address the still cheering crowd, Tony felt a sudden burst of pride in being able to finally introduce his one true love in life to the world as **his** wife. He happened to glance up again at the ceiling of the old auditorium and smiled as his thoughts quickly drifted back to that time many years ago when his father had first formally introduced him to the SI family in this very same auditorium. And with Pepper now pregnant with their children, he suddenly couldn't wait until the time came for him to introduce his own children to the SI family in this very same auditorium as he carried on a Stark tradition. And on that day, he would even try to remember to make sure that his children were Double-Bubble and 7-Up free, but then again…


End file.
